Between the Stone
by VirKatJol
Summary: Kahlan must rescue Richard when he's kidnapped and trapped. Written for the Girl Saves Boy Ficathon on LJ


Title: Between the Stone

Author: lj user="virkatjol"

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Kahlan discovers Richard missing and she must find him. Shota's Prophecy points her in the right direction. Will she get there in time? Written for lj user="girlsavesboyfic"

Disclaimer: The Characters aren't mine. But I REALLLY love playing with them. It might be unhealthy how much I love it.

B/N Disclaimer: The characters aren't hers either, but we like to throw them around a lot. Jo likes to put them in cheesy situations as well. I don't like cheese, but it's okay.

A/N: This was like a beast. I started out with NO IDEA what to do and it kinda wrote itself! So WIN! Also it's my FIRST Prophecy so don't judge it too hard. Hehehe

B/N: I coulda sworn I just turned in my beta yesterday and now I'm on this one. I have red nails rn. Fishes swim, birds fly.

lj-cut text="Find the place between the rock."

The first thing that he knew was that his head hurt. A lot. He tried to open his eyes but the light sent shooting pain into his already aching skull and he squeezed them closed. His hand went to his forehead and began rubbing the center, trying to ease the pain surrounding his brain.

Richard sucked in slow, deep breaths, working to control the pain so he could ease his eyes open. He didn't know how he'd gotten wherever he was. Where was Kahlan? Was she okay? He bolted upright at the thought of her being injured and moaned at the rush of blood from his skull, making the pain more intense. He felt like vomiting from it but he held it in continuing to sooth the ache with oxygen.

When it became a dull throb he opened his eyes slightly. The walls were stone, and torches lit the sides. There was a trickle of water on one side and the ceiling seemed to let some bright sunlight leach in. Nothing looked familiar. He didn't see Kahlan, but there wasn't much to see. The space was around thirty feet wide and seventy feet long. As far as he could see there was no door. How did he get in here?

"Shota!"

The witch turned and smiled at Kahlan. She knew why she was here and put her hand up to halt her movement. She didn't need the confessor close to her when she offered her the knowledge that her visions had shown her.

"Kahlan. Mother Confessor." She spat out the title. She had more power than anyone else in the Midlands, besides Zedd, and she still had to bow to this woman in white. "What brings you to the edge of Agaden Reach? Care to join me in my den?"

"You know why I'm here, Shota. Don't waste my time. I need to know where he is."

"I can only assume you are speaking of Richard Rahl." She crossed her arms and smirked at the other woman. Her white dress was dirty, the edges torn form the bramble of the forest on the way to her home. Her hair was matted and greasy and her skin tinged with black from the grim of the trail. She was very rough looking and Shota took pride that she looked much fresher. "He's usually impossible to remove from his spot at your side."

"He's been missing for four days. I've heard rumors that you are aware of his location." Kahlan advanced on the sorceress her arm slack at her side, fingers twitching with a need to encircle her neck and steal her soul. Shota, despite her annoying know-it-all attitude, sometimes proved to be useful. She was lucky that Kahlan needed her or she'd have taken her soul long ago.

"I might have the information you seek." She looked up at the trees as if the birds and leaves contained the answers. "What do I get out of this?"

"The fate of The Seeker is in your hands-"

"No, my dear, they are in yours."

"What do you mean?" Kahlan's breath was shallow. She'd searched since she'd woken up alone four mornings ago. Richard never left without a note or waking her up first.

"It's the prophecy." Shota waved her hands and whispered a spell. A blue crystal bowl appeared at her feet filled with clear, crisp water. She picked it up and walked towards Kahlan.

"Isn't it always?" Kahlan rolled her eyes and sighed. "Richard doesn't believe in prophecy. I'm starting to think my life would be much simpler if I joined his way of thinking."

"You don't need to hear it, but then you'll have to keep wandering aimlessly looking for the man you love."

"Tell me." Kahlan watched her tip the bowl and let the water slip over the edge.

"On the night of the harvest moon, the one who wields the sword will find peace unless the one who's bound to him without the touch of magic finds a way to break the bond of stone."

"The harvest moon is in two days." Kahlan was frantic now.

"You'd better hurry then." Shota uttered a spell of transport and disappeared with a wave of her hand.

Kahlan dropped to the ground and screamed her rage at the woman. She let herself indulge in a fit of anger for a few minutes before she calmed her mind and thought about the prophecy. 'Break the bond of stone' that part is what she needed to concentrate on. There was so much stone in the Midlands and D'Hara, and even Westland had its share of mountains and caves.

Think. The harvest moon must be important too. Why else would it be in the prophecy? She went through all the cultures that she knew in her mind. How many of them had ceremonies celebrating that time of year? She could come up with three, but what if she was missing some? Her mind catalogued all the people she knew again. The Hendles, the Frents and the Therls all had festival activities. Only the Therls occupied a territory that was full of caves and rocks, and they were also often the cause of dissent among the people. They rallied against a lot of the laws placed on everyone. They were a violent society with a thin grasp on magic.

"They do a lot of rock magic. Sending boulders onto enemies in battle, milking water from stone, using rock for homes and prison…" Kahlan found that speaking while she thought often helped her work out problems. Usually Richard was around to bounce ideas off of. "Richard…" She spoke his name with reverence, a tear slipped down her cheek, but she couldn't think of 'what ifs'. Not when he was still alive, according to the prophecy. That's all she had to cling to right now, and it would have to do.

Kahlan got to her feet and began traveling to the Therls territory. She would need to buy a horse. It wasn't far but she knew she'd need as much time as she could get when she got there to puzzle out the rest of the riddle.

He was cold. The torches somehow still burned but didn't provide heat. There were no blankets and the small beam of sunlight that trickled through the overhead stone didn't help heat his body. He wished he had Kahlan to curl up next to. Usually he kept her warm, but he knew that she could help him heat back up.

Kahlan.

He missed her. He hoped that she didn't blame herself if she couldn't find him. He didn't think he'd last more than a couple more days. The water dripped down one wall. It was full of minerals and he was sure that's what had sustained him as long as it had. He made it a point to drink often. The water was cold. He'd tried to heat it with a torch but it wouldn't heat the water either. They just burned to provide light.

Everyday he checked all the walls for chinks in the magic that sealed him in here, but he'd found nothing. The beam of light had to be a clue. His normally sharp thoughts were lagging and he wasn't able to form questions like he usually was. He only thought of Kahlan. If he died with her name on his lips, he would die happy. He didn't know happiness until he met her. Loved her. Married her. She was his everything.

He needed her to find him.

She rode hard. The horse's thick lather was white on its dark bay neck. The air around them was cool and yet the horse was hot. He ran on bravely, as if it understood how much she needed it to race across the Midlands. She was worried about the animal though; she could sense how close to death it was and could feel how willing it was to give its life to her. She couldn't demand that the horse give her that much. She eased him into a trot then to a walk, letting the reins drop and the horse have free use of his head.

She puzzled over the prophecy some more. There was magic involved. They mentioned hers in it. Her power didn't work on inanimate things or animals. To be effected by her there had to be a soul involved. A human soul.

Humans put the magic on the rocks. She had to find out which of the tribe captured Richard. She could confess that person and force them to return Richard to her.

The Therls were one of the largest tribes in the Midlands. They didn't enjoy cooperating with the Mother Confessor so she needed to approach with caution. She should investigate the area first. She didn't need to burst in there wielding her ultimate power; she wanted their continued participation in the Midlands law system. One person's life, no matter if it was Richard's, wasn't worth hundreds of years of status quo. She'd heard the stories of violence that used to rule the lands and how the first Confessors made it a peaceful place to live.

She saw the edge of their territory and dismounted her horse. She hobbled him and untacked him. She'd need him again when she found Richard.

The outlying caves were just up ahead.

The light was dimming and Richard knew that soon the torches would be the only things illuminating his prison. He would sit beneath the beam and try to stare at the sky but the angle and size of the hole didn't allow him much of a view. He kept busy, trying to find the perfect way to position his body to see out. He'd have gone mad with the confinement had it not been for that small seam in the rock.

He often sat in stiff and still concentrating on the sounds beyond the stone barrier. If birds and animals were close enough he could hear their songs and shuffling of their feet. He'd yet to hear the sounds of any humans.

Until now.

The soft footfalls were barely distinguishable amongst the ambient noise of the forest so he concentrated hard on the sound. He knew the rhythm. The tempo of the walk was as familiar to him as the back of his hand. She'd found him.

"Kahlan!" Her name exited his throat in a mere whisper. How would she find him if he couldn't project his voice? Richard cleared his vocal cords, dislodging the sticky phlegm that had gathered there from the lack of use. "Kahlan!" The second try was louder, more sure. The sound outside the cave speed up and grew louder. She'd heard him. The proof came when he heard the sweet song of her voice just touch his eardrum. He yelled for her again.

His voice sent a shiver of pleasure up her spine. It sounded sick and wounded but it was still him. She looked back and forth between the giant boulders that surrounded her and then heard it again. She squinted at the area and made out a large rock that had a slightly different color to it. It was just a little too green to be natural. She sped up her gait and advanced on it.

"Richard!" She panted in relief as she reached the rock. It was the right one, and he called her name again. "I'm going to get you out of there."

"I don't know how…" His voice was faint and scratchy. She could hear that he'd lost most of the hope of ever being freed.

"There's a prophecy-"

"This reeks of Shota." The disdain at the mention of her name was evident.

"She helped me find you. The prophecy led me here." Kahlan was circling the rock. It wasn't a very large area, and the back side was buried deeply into the earth as if it used to be the mouth of a cave but was now covered seamlessly with stone. She scaled the steep hill and lowered herself onto the top of the boulder.

"Stop." He shouted from inside. "You're blocking my light right now. Look down."

Her hands swept along the surface, letting her fingers find the opening. The edge of the hole caught her fingertip, cutting the end. Blood dripped onto the rock and she squeaked in surprise and put her finger into her mouth. The injury was minor but it throbbed. She bent over the tiny opening trying to peer through. She could see a flickering of orange but it was quickly blocked by a shadow.

"Move back a little." He followed her request and she could see a small piece of him. "I see you, Richard! I see you!" Her eyes teared up at the sight of him.

"Okay, tell me the prophecy. Let's find a way to get me out of here."

Kahlan laid down, her stomach on the cold rock and she held her spot so she could keep looking into the small space. She wished she could see him while she spoke. Watching the wheels spin as he puzzled things out always fascinated her and helped her to arrive at solutions faster.

"On the night of the harvest moon, the one who wields the sword will find peace unless the one who's bound to him without the touch of magic finds a way to break the bond of stone." Kahlan paused, letting him absorb her words. She could almost feel him heating up with rage from the prediction.

"You're here now. So you've found me."

"But you're still trapped." Kahlan looked around, the sun was touching the horizon. It would be dark soon. The next time the moon rose, it would be the harvest moon. Twenty-four hours, that's all they had left. One day until her life was stolen from her. A lifetime of hopes and dreams destroyed when the man she loved died with the rising of the bronzed, glowing planet.

"The harvest moon is soon."

"Yes." She tried to control the shaking in her voice; she didn't want him to know how upset she was.

"It will be alright, you're here with me. It's all that matters."

He always knew. She couldn't hide from him. Even through the thick barrier of rock, he could sense her mood, hear the change in the timbre of her voice. She couldn't lose that man.

Both of them sat silently, thinking, worrying, wondering if they'd find a way out of this.

"Kahlan… If I don't-"

"Do not say another word." Her voice broke. "Please."

"I lo-"

"Tell me when you get out." She knew he did and hearing the words now would break her heart. She never wanted him to utter them as a goodbye. "We need to decipher this prophecy, not talk about… that."

"It mentions your magic."

"It mentions how you aren't bound to me through my magic… in the same sentence that it mentions the stone binding."

"Confession doesn't work on inanimate objects. Stone, rock, earth, you've got no power over those things."

"No. I don't. But my magic still touches them. It just passes through without affecting anything. Maybe the magic used on the stone can be broken by my touch."

"Try it."

"I should try to find where the spell was cast." She slid off the rocky side of the boulder and landed with a soft thump. As the sky darkened the color of the rock continued to change. The magic cast upon it was practically a beacon. "Why would it be made so obvious?"

"To trap the Mother Confessor, of course."

The cold voice caused her to turn on her heel almost tripping over her feet. Luckily, the boulder was right behind her and she caught herself.

"Joslin." Kahlan tucked her hair behind her ear and straightened herself. She stood tall and proud, pulling her facial features into the cold, emotionless state of duty.

"Kahlan." The woman nodded her head in a mocking bow. "So you can be bothered to come visit when we have something you want?"

"The Therls don't appreciate our interference. I stay away… unless I'm needed." Kahlan crossed her arms and her gaze bore into the other woman. She'd known Joslin for years as the representative for the clan. They'd often argued over petty things like land grants and game boundaries. Kahlan had always won, Joslin seeing reason in the end, but the fire in the other woman's eyes showed years of resentment had been building up.

"How do you know you aren't needed? We have disputes, we need mediation."

Kahlan brushed off her accusations. She'd been warned off by the tribe many times when trying to assist in the local government. Joslin was just trying to rile her up.

"You decided the best way to lure me into your territory was to kidnap my husband? Trap him in a rock with your earth magic?"

"The most entertaining anyway." The Therl woman slung her bow off her shoulder and nocked an arrow. She aimed at Kahlan before switching the to area behind her. Kahlan watched as the point embedded in the rock as if it were soft and not solid. "How do you think you'll be able to get him out? Your magic is very limiting in its ability."

"I could always confess you."

"You could." Joslin nocked a second arrow. "But I don't possess the magic to release him. You're the only one who can free him." She added a bit more tension on the bowstring and let the arrow fly towards the boulder. Both women watched as it slid inside, penetrating the barrier. It was followed by a yelp from inside. "Looks like I've hit my mark."

The holier-than-thou look on Joslin's face is what sent her over the edge. She felt the rage rush though her veins and the power of her magic took over body. The familiar shaking of the most powerful confessors consumed her. Kahlan's head flung back and her throat released her rage in an animalistic scream.

Joslin turned to run but she was too late. Kahlan's hand reached forward. She let the magic flow through her fingers and race after the woman.

She was hers.

The woman fell to her knees and crawled back towards her new mistress. Her eyes were filled with remorseful tears as she laid at Kahlan's feet, begging for her to forgive her.

"Tell me how to get to him." Kahlan's voice was low and steady as her power course through her veins.

"Use your magic on the stone, Mistress." Joslin cowered under the gaze of her confessor. She pointed at the weak spot in the stone and quickly turned away trying again to garner her mistress' mercy.

She turned to Richard's prison and aimed her magic at the point next to the first arrow. She released everything she had left from her con'dar into the now solid barrier. She watched as it began to rumble and chips of stone started to sift off the edges.

The rock broke in small pieces at first and then larger sections began to fall away, carving a massive opening into the boulder. Kahlan, still in con'dar, walked steadily through the new entrance. She lifted a wounded, tired, cold, starving Richard against her body and pulled him from the space that had been his cell for the past five days.

Making her way across the meadow, she located her horse, tacked him back up and somehow hoisted her husband across the saddle before mounting behind him,. The strength she found in her magic began to fade and the exhaustion set in. She kicked the horse into a canter and let him find their way back home, to Aydindril.

The warmth that surrounded him was a welcome change. He felt a steady pulse of air against his neck. It was soothing for some reason, but he couldn't place what it was. He blinked open his eyes and tried to move his arms to wipe away the grit that was making them sticky and hard to manage. They were restrained though. A flash of panic went through him and he tried again, though this time he was able to break free.

"Richard?" Her voice was addled with sleep his stirring had awoken her. "Morning." She cracked open an eyelid and peered around the room. "Or evening perhaps, it looks too dark in here to be morning."

She released him from her hold. He'd been unconscious when Zedd had met them at the gates of the palace. She was barely aware of anything by that point. They'd worked together to clean him up and dress the wound from where the arrow had pierced his bicep. He'd been lucky. She'd somehow stayed coherent until they'd tucked him into bed, then she must have collapsed. She had no recollection of climbing in after him. But she was here now, her body wrapped around his, holding him so tightly in her deep sleep that he'd had trouble moving.

"You saved me." He flipped around and his forehead was pressed to hers. The blankets were twisted around them and their arms and legs were intertwined. Neither of them could distinguish where they began or ended, only that they were together.

"Barely." Kahlan closed the minuscule distance between them and her lips pressed against his. She kissed him with the desperation she felt when he was trapped in that rock. It quickly turned from gratefulness to something more heated and wanton. She wanted to feel him. Needed it. His hands were around her waist trying to tug her closer. The heat of his response lay between them, hot against her belly. She groaned into his mouth and pulled away. The soft puffs of his breath teasing her lips. She couldn't ever get enough of him.

"The margin doesn't count." Richard kissed her nose. "Only that you did it."

"It counts for my sanity." She arched her hips into him. She wanted him inside her. That connection was something she craved after they went though near death experiences. It hadn't been like that in so long. They'd been living peacefully, normally, in Aydindril. She always wanted him, but this desperation to have him hadn't visited in a long while. She felt that if they didn't make love she'd lose her grip on reality. He grounded her.

His eyes were on her face as if he could see her thoughts.

"I feel it too." His mouth was on hers then. It moved over her lips with harsh strokes of his tongue, plunging into her mouth. He wanted to melt into her. His vision was no longer obscured by a tiny fraction of light between thick rock he kept his eyes wide open as he kissed her. It was like his mind couldn't believe that she was here, with him. He rolled them over so he was pinning her into the bed. Their legs untangled and hers opened allowing him to be cradled in between their warmth.

Kahlan reached between them and tugged her nightdress up to her belly. His cock was now nestled against her curls. She thrust her hips into him rubbing her clit against his erection. The movement of her hips worked him into her folds, her slick heat coating his manhood as she rocked against him. She squeezed his hips with her thighs, trapping his body there. He didn't seem to mind her using him for pleasure. His mouth continued to devour hers, sometimes veering off to her neck or her ear before quickly returning. He couldn't get enough of her lips, it seemed.

The rhythm of her hips increased and he scooted down a tiny bit, changing the angle slightly. Now the ridge on the head of his cock slid across her clit with every roll. She panted with every stroke sitting right on the edge of climax. The little nub throbbed from desire but her body wouldn't let go. She tried pulling him closer, her heels digging into his backside; the added pressure on her clitoris just heightened her desperation. The anguished mewing sounds that were being expelled from her throat made Richard pull his head back and look at her.

He'd never heard her so needy and not able to come. Normally she was so easy to trigger into orgasm, her body eager to reply to his through the climax. He looked at her face, crinkled in concentration, distraught at her inability to find her pleasure. One hand traveled down her body and gripped her hips, stilling the erratic motion. When she had paused her frantic movements, he reached between them and clasped his slippery cock in his fist. He positioned the head at her entrance and thrust inside, burying himself to the base in one smooth stroke.

"You feel so good." Kahlan gasped as he pulled out, paused and let himself plunge back in. It was just what she needed. The next stroke, he took his pelvic bone landed just right and she came. Her whole body tightened as she milked his cock, her calves held him deep inside her only letting him wiggle his hips against her putting pressure on her clit. Everything was so intense that she hadn't felt her magic. Normally the power of it overwhelmed her first but this time the sharp edge of the climax had beaten her power. She knew it had to have been released but she had no recollection of it happening.

"Spirits, Kahlan, you're tight." He tried to hold back but the sensations on his erection from her body clamping around him were too much. He let go of his control. His orgasm made him shout her name and his pelvis pushed hers deeper into the mattress. He couldn't get far enough inside her as hot bursts of come left him and shot within her. It hadn't even been a week but it felt like a lifetime since they'd given each other pleasure.

Kahlan's hands stroked his back as both of them regained their ability to form thoughts. His mouth was softly kissing her neck as he laid on her. His weight was heavy but the only part that would function was his lips. She just let him lie there and recover. He'd been starved for almost a week and his need for her had eclipsed his need to eat.

The growl startled her and when she placed the noise, she chuckled and then frowned.

"I'm sorry, Richard. You haven't eaten in days and the first thing I do when you wake up is beg you for sex." Kahlan rolled them over and she started to slip out of the sheets.

"I was a willing participant." He tugged her back towards him.

"I should have taken care of your needs first."

"You did." He kissed her temple as he curled his body around hers. "Well, I guess I took care of you first."

"Always so considerate." She kissed him back on his mouth before getting out of bed again. "You have to eat something, I'm going to go grab you some bread and butter. It's a good thing to get your stomach going again. Maybe later we can feed you something else."

"Apples. I want apples."

Kahlan blushed remembering some of the things they'd done with apples in the past.

"You need to regain your strength before feeding me apples." She put on her slippers and donned her robe. When she got to the door she opened it and looked back at him. His eyes were closed and he looked so content and peaceful. She was so happy to have him back. Her life wouldn't be the same without him in it. She thanked the Spirits every day for all they had given her.

Quietly, Kahlan slipped into the kitchen to prepare her husband some food. Most of the time she asked the servants to do it. This time something about cooking for him, even a food as simple as toast, made her feel better. It was so domestic and stable. It calmed her nerves.

She lightly buttered it and added a smidgeon of apple butter to one part. She couldn't deny him completely. With a glass of cool water in one hand and the plate in the other, she made her way back to their room.

It was her turn to take care of him. He'd done so much for her over the years and she was always happy to return the favor.

The End

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